Those who do not Remember
by Wild Force Ranger
Summary: Angel's history is catching him up again...and this time it's pulling in everyone around him. Champions, book 2.
1. Default Chapter

Author's note: Those who do not remember the past are doomed to repeat it.

Those who do not Remember

"Nice…what is that?"

"Technically or really?"

"Both. Either. Whatever."

"Are you expressing interest in what I do?"

"I'm just wondering why you're hanging a lump of…paper…from your ceiling."

"It's my ceiling."

Connor snorted and turned to leave. "Oh, come back here." Smiling, Deirbhile jumped off the chair and looked proudly at the papier-mâché dragon she'd just hung from the ceiling. "He's cute."

"He's ridiculous." Connor protested.

"Oh, don't be such a stick in the mud. Your father would at least pretend to like it."

"My father has very odd taste."

"I didn't say he really would like it." She sank onto the bed, still smiling at the dragon. "He'd just pretend."

"Fine." Connor pushed away from the wall, standing directly under the dragon and peering at it in a wickedly accurate Angel impression. "It's…very nice. Very…dragony. Good fake flame, there."

"All right, point taken. Stop humoring me."

"What's the hole for"

"Stephen…" 

"I'm serious. What's the hole for"

"You put sweets in it, and then you bash it to bits so the sweets fall out."

Connor looked over at her, surprised. "You're going to bash it to bits?"

"No, of course not. It's a children's game, Stephen."

Connor raised an eyebrow. "Then why do you have it?"

"I like dragons. I miss dragons. Plus he's cute."

"You _miss _dragons?"

"Sure. I used to see dragons when I was…before this. They're dormant now, they don't wake up, but they're around."

Connor turned away, shaking his head. "I always forget that."

"Forget what?"

"How old you are."

"Does it matter?" She shrugged slightly. "I try not to think about it, personally."

"Guess not." He looked up at the dragon again. "It's looking at me."

"Stephen, it doesn't have eyes."

"Cole will like it."

Deirbhile sighed. "Cole's not going to see it, because he's staying at home with his parents. I can't believe you're still mad about one weekend."

"I'm not mad he was here. He's just…" Connor hesitated, searching for the right word, and came up with "…unsettling."

"Ah, ignore him. You're well used to that." Deirbhile said brightly.

"You don't think he's unsettling?"

"I didn't say that. He's very unsettling…"

Connor started to say something, but she stopped him and went on"Sometimes. But when he's at home, he's treated like an adult…which is fine if you're an adult. I take him to let him be a child."

"I know why you do it, Tara. But in future when you do it I'm going away."

"Which will be different from normal how?" She grinned at him, tapping the dragon lightly and making him spin around.

"Don't try to be funny. You're no good at it."

"I must be getting better, you knew I was trying this time."

"Ha ha."

"Yeah. On a totally new topic, Fred called last night."

"I know." Connor stood to leave the room.

"Connor…"

"No."

"You don't even know what I'm going to ask."

"Yes I do." He stopped in the door and looked back. "I don't want to see them."

"You need to see them."

"I need them to stay out of my life. Now that I have one."

"You call this a life? Lurking in the shadows waiting for them to slip up so you can swoop in? They won't leave us alone because you won't leave them alone." She moved, perching on the very edge of the bed. "Let's just…"

"No." he cut her off. "I'm not leaving LA."

"You know, if you'd just…"

"You can go." She stopped dead and stared at him. "You don't have to stay. Go back to Turtle Cove."

Tara laughed, shaking her head. "Are we gonna have to go through this again, Stephen? I'm not leaving. Not if you're staying here. How many more times am I going to have to tell you that?"

Connor smiled faintly, ducking his head. "It's just nice to hear sometimes."

"You should do that more often." Tara reached out, brushing his cheek with the tips of her fingers. "Smile. It looks good on you."

Connor backed up very slightly, pulling out of contact with Tara. "I have to go."

"I know." she agreed, nodding. "Be careful."

"Always." Connor said, turning and leaving the room.

Angel knew he was there, of course.

In the months since Jasmine's defeat Connor and Tara had not left LA. Neither of them made any effort to contact the Angel Inc crew, although Tara, at least, was never less than friendly when they did meet. Connor skulked around them, following them on stakeouts and lurking outside the new Wolfram and Hart offices. If any of the others saw him, they never told Angel; but he always knew, and he knew Connor had to be doing that on purpose. Connor, of all people, knew how acute Angel's senses were.

Tonight the team had gone to clear a nest of small, worm-like demons. They'd received several calls and had narrowed the location of the nest to a few blocks. Angel was listening with one ear as Connor paced the car, following them to the suburbs and watching from the deepest shadows as they unloaded and began searching.

Angel had minions now, of course, who could do this for him. He still liked doing it himself, though, and so tonight he'd loaded up his old crew and come out himself.

While Gunn and Wesley began a quick sweep and Fred did something with some equipment, Angel drifted closer to Connor's shadow.

"What are you doing here?"

"It's a free city." Connor muttered sullenly, not moving.

"Connor…"

Connor glowered. "Tara's worried about these demons. She says there's something different about them."

"She told Fred that last night." Angel remarked. "That's why we're here."

"I know that." Connor snarled.

Angel shrugged faintly. "Fred thinks they're just demons. Smaller than normal, but still demons."

Connor shook his head. "Tara says not. She's worried."

"You could help us." Angel suggested mildly.

"Sure. That worked so well the last time." Connor shook his head again. "It doesn't work that way."

Angel nodded slowly. "We'll let you know if we find anything."

"Don't bother. We'll know." He melted away, deeper into the shadow, and Angel sighed and turned back to his friends.

"Found anything?" he asked.

"Nothin'." Gunn muttered.

"What about you?" Wesley asked. Angel glanced at him and nodded very slightly.

"No. Nothing. Fred?"

Fred happily began explaining how her machinery worked; Angel tuned out, watching Connor skulk.

"Angel?" Wesley said quietly. "Why is he here?"

"Deirbhile's worried. Says there's something going on."

Wes nodded slowly. "Does he say what?"

"Doesn't know. Just something different."

"So not the usual run-of-the-mill demons then." Wesley smiled faintly.

"Probably not, no. Have we found anything yet?"

"Not yet."

"Yes we have." Fred corrected him. "There."

She pointed to a shadowy alcove, formed where one house protruded more than its accompanying garage. Now that he was looking, Angel could see faint signs of movement inside.

"These guys are small, right?" Gunn asked, hefting a sword.

"So the reports say." Wesley agreed.

"Then why don't we just attack?"

"Because the reports aren't especially reliable." Fred pointed out. "Too many "Oh my god"s, and "it was hideous" and not enough facts."

"So we're gonna stand around and look at them? How is that any better?"

"No." Angel said. "I'm gonna attack them, Wesley's gonna back me up, Fred's gonna observe them and you're gonna protect Fred."

"Man with a plan." Gunn said approvingly.

Angel stepped forward determinedly, still studying the dark space, and there was a sudden flurry of movement within.

"Angel." Wesley said warningly.

"I see it." Angel said over his shoulder.

In that half-second of distraction, a mass of…somethings…boiled out of the space and flew out onto the street. Fred shrieked and dropped her gizmo, instinctively shielding her head. Angel rose from his ducked position and started after them.

"_Peist." _he murmured.

"Paste?" Gunn repeated, picking up Fred's machine and handing it back to her.

"No, not paste, _peist." _Angel shook his head, still staring after them. "They're…legendary…"

"For what? Being small and annoying?" Gunn asked.

"For not existing." Angel retorted.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Hey guys!

Sorry about the lack of author's note last week; I was quite literally walking out the door to go on holidays, which is also, Merykey, why I'm late updating. Never fear! I should hopefully be back on a regular schedule by the end of this week.

Angel-wings: what a great long review! Thanks. I'm glad you're enjoying it, and yes, I do try and end each chapter in a way that'll encourage you to come back. As to more Champions and characters…you just opened a can of worms there. Probably next week, depending on the chapter breakdown, there will be a sidebar to this story which will introduce some more characters. There are going to be a lot of changes in Tara's life. I spent a lot of time getting her to somewhere where she's happy, and now I'm going to start tearing her down again…watch out for a return to Powers, and two new sections called 'Pocalypse and Lost Ones.

Stary: I'd love to answer your question about Connor and Tara, but your email addy didn't come through. Can I get it from your bio page, or do you want to email me direct?

MeryKey: You knew I wouldn't leave you hanging, didn't you?

Anyone else who read but didn't review: Enjoy.

Chapter Two

Wesley paced back and forth across Angel's office.

"I believe I remember _peist_." he murmured. "Small, winged snakes, correct?"

"Yeah, except they don't exist. They're kid's stories."

"I've never heard of them." Fred protested.

"Irish kid's stories." Angel clarified. "I heard them when I was young."

"OK, so what do they do?" Gunn asked.

"They don't do anything. They just are. They're not even vicious."

"They have been attacking people." Wesley pointed out.

"None of the reports mentioned injuries." Fred mused. "Or, at least, there was a sprained ankle, but…"

"Fred?" Angel prompted her.

"It's just there's no bite marks or claw marks."

"So maybe they weren't attacking." Wesley picked up her train of thought. "Maybe they were just retreating, as they did to us, and the civilians overreacted."

"It's possible." Angel agreed. "But we still have a flock of _peist _flying around downtown LA somewhere. We need to find them and do something with them before anyone else gets hurt."

"My department's still working on the readings I got last night." Fred offered. "We might be able to…"

She trailed off at a knock on the door. Deirbhile stuck her head around, looking from one to another of them. "Hey. Bad time?"

"No." Angel gestured her in. "What do you know about these demons?"

"Nothing." She shrugged. "Only that they're wrong. They shouldn't be here now."

"Now." Wesley repeated.

Deirbhile frowned, looking at Angel. "You do know what they are."

"_Peist."_

"Right. There's no way _peist _should be showing up here and especially not now. They've only ever lived in Ireland and they haven't lived there in centuries."

"Any theories on how they could have shown up here?" Wesley asked.

"Nope." She turned towards the door again. "Only that…they're not the last."

"What?" Angel asked sharply.

"There's more stuff coming. And no, I don't know what and no, I don't know when."

"Not much help then, are you?" Gunn muttered.

"Sue me." Deirbhile returned, leaving the office before he could answer.

"Would if you existed." Gunn muttered.

"Where've you been?" Connor asked as Deirbhile came back into the house.

"Worried?" she asked absently.

Connor snorted. "No. Merrick called."

"Oh?"

"What's up with these flying things?"

"The _peist?_ Not sure yet."

"Who came up with that name?" Connor asked.

"It's always been their name. They're from Irish mythology."

"Whatever. How do we kill them?"

"Fred's working on it. If we could just drive them out of the city, that'd do it. They don't have to be killed."

"Save the pests?" Connor asked dryly.

"No, stupid. _Peist."_

"I know."

Deirbhile grinned. "You see, you do have a sense of humor."

"Whoop-de-doo." Connor said dryly. "I'm going out."

"Have fun. Hang on!"

He halted at the door, looking impatiently back at her. "Yeah?"

"Merrick?" she prompted him.

"Just checking. Felt like maybe something was wrong."

Deirbhile nodded. "OK; thanks."

"OK." Angel said patiently. "So your team" he looked at Fred "hasn't found a way to get rid of them, and your team" he looked at Wes "can't figure out what they're doing here."

"Right." Fred agreed. "They barely registered on our scanners, and the impressions we got aren't so much…"

Angel's phone rang. "Hold on a second." he told Fred. "Yeah?"

"Angel." Deirbhile sounded mildly out of breath. "Where are you?"

"In my office. You rang me."

"I know. Who's there?"

"Everyone. What's…"

"Put me on speaker." she interrupted him.

"What?"

"Put me on the speaker, Angel! We have a problem here!"

Angel turned the phone speaker on. "OK. Now what?"

"Can you hear this?" Deirbhile asked.

"Yeoch. I can." Lorne winced. "That does not bode well, honey."

"No. I mean, I know. Anyone else?"

"I can." Angel offered after a minute. "If you mean the…"

"Shush." she interrupted him. "Wes, Fred or Gunn?"

"Just you." Wes told her.

"Get Harmony."

"Deirbhile…"

"Get her! We need to know if only demons can hear this, and in about two minutes your switchboards are going to be flooded and she'll know then, so get her!"

Fred was already at the door; a moment later Harmony came in.

"Did you want me, boss…" she faltered, listening. "What is that?"

"She hears it." Angel told Deirbhile.

"Right." Deirbhile sighed. "Lorne, please take Wes out of the office, tell him what you hear, and come back in."

"Is there a reason for this, Deirbhile?" Angel asked.

"Yes. I'm testing a theory. That's the last thing I need to do, Angel, I promise."

Angel gestured Wes and Lorne on, and they left the office with Harmony, whispering for a moment before coming back in.

"Wes?" Angel prompted after a minute.

"I hear it." His tone was mildly wondering.

"Damnit." Deirbhile muttered. "Angel, this is a problem. You know what this is?"

"Bean sidhe." Angel said grimly.

"I'm standing outside a hospital downtown. Angel, once someone knows it's there, it follows them. It's spreading."

"That's not how it works." Angel protested.

"And _peist _don't live in this time or place, either."

Angel nodded slowly. "Can you come in?"

"On my way now."

"Both of you."

She hesitated. "I'll ask him."

"Fair enough."

"What's going on?" Gunn asked.

"_Bean sidhe." _Angel repeated. "Banshee."

"What's a banshee?" Fred asked.

"An Irish ghost." Wes supplied. "Said to cry at the time of death."

"There's no…" Gunn's expression changed. "Hell." he muttered. "That going all along?"

Fred's eyes widened as she heard the howling.

"This isn't…_bean sidhe's _not indiscriminate like this." Angel said. "She only calls for certain families. This is wrong."

"People keep saying that like it means something." Deirbhile commented. Angel looked down in surprise; he hadn't realized the phone was still on. "Really, it doesn't."

"We get that." Angel told her. "You just get Connor and get in here."

"Aye aye, Captain." The phone beeped as she hung up.

"Wes…" Angel started.

"Research. On it."

Angel nodded. "Fred?"

"Something to capture a banshee?" she asked doubtfully.

"Yeah. That'd be nice."

"I can try. Maybe some kind of ectoplasmic conversion…" she trailed off as she turned to leave the office.

"Won't work."

Gunn jerked in surprise, turning to see Deirbhile and Connor standing in the doorway. "How'd you do that?"

"Magic." She stepped forward, eyes on Angel and Fred. "It's not really _bean sidhe."_

"How do you know?" Wes asked.

"I lived in Ireland long enough to know one. This is…it's something else. I can't pin it down."

"And it's spreading." Connor added. "All over the city."

"Who hears it?" Wes asked.

"Demons. All demons, across the board. And anyone who's told it's there." Deirbhile sank into Angel's couch. "It's not…if you're not told you can't hear it."

"How does that work?" Gunn asked.

"My dagger does the same thing. If you don't know it's there you can't see it." Deirbhile reminded them.

"Yes, but that's only on a small scale."

"We're looking at this backwards." Wes said suddenly. "It's not that we can't hear it without being told it's there. It's not there until we're told it is."

"No, because demons are hearing it."

"Yes, but who started that?" Wes asked.

"No, I know what you're thinking, but Angel and Lorne weren't told it was here. The first they heard of it was when I rang them." Deirbhile glanced at Angel. "Do we see a connection?"

"_Peist_ and _bean sidhe_? Yeah. Someone's digging around in Irish myths." Angel leaned back in his chair.

"_Bean sidhe's _not the only harbinger of death, but she's fairly unique." Deirbhile mused. "In Russia packs of wolves howled when people died."

"Most cultures have something similar." Wes agreed. "But that doesn't help us much."

"I know. I'm brainstorming."

Connor shifted. "That sound's not actually going to stop, is it."

"Fred's working on it." Angel said.

"Come here." Deirbhile said to Connor. Taking the dagger from the sheath at his hip, she studied it for a minute before looking back up. "Better?"

"Yeah." He took the dagger back.

"What'd you do?" Angel asked.

"Blocked the sound for him. No," she added quickly. "I can't reproduce it. Just for Connor."

"Great." Angel said, leaning back.

"If I can do it for him, the Powers must be able to do it for you." Deirbhile pointed out.

"Unfortunately, we're not on speaking terms." Angel reminded her.

"Yeah, they don't wanna get brooded to death." Spike said from the door.

"Hi Spike." Deirbhile said absently.

"What are you doing here?" Angel demanded.

"Heard the screams. Figured there was somethin' goin' on."

"Yeah, well, we're handling it, so you can…"

"Handling it?" Connor repeated. "No you're not."

"Connor, let the boys fight." Deirbhile said, gaze going from one to the other. "Havta learn to trust each other somehow."

"Who says we want to, pet?" Spike asked.

"Don't call me pet, or I may accidentally light you on fire." she retorted.

"I like this one." Spike said to Angel.

"I care so deeply." Deirbhile retorted. "Bug off, Spike."

"Spunky." Spike said approvingly. "So what's going on, then?"

"Bean sidhe." Angel said. Spike rolled his eyes.

"Pesky little fairy things. What the hell are they doing in LA?"

"They're not really _bean sidhe." _Angel continued.

"Don't forget the _peist, _Angel." Deirbhile reminded him.

"Right, and there's _peist _wandering around LA somewhere, but we don't know where."

"Hey."

Everyone looked up to see Buffy Summers standing somewhat uncertainly in the doorway. "Bad time?"

"Buffy." Angel said, something approaching wonder in his tone.

Deirbhile turned and began to whisper urgently in Connor's ear.

"What's going on?" Buffy asked, coming a little further into the office.

"We're handling it. I thought you were in Rome." Spike said, managing to pretend he wasn't interested.

"I was." Buffy agreed.

"So what're you doing here? Come to tell me to my face how much no one trusts us any more?" Angel asked bitterly.

"How's Dana?" Spike added.

"Doing better. And, no. I came for Spike."

"What?" Angel demanded.

"I came to ask Spike to come and help us." Buffy's gaze never left Spike's face.

"Spike?" Connor rose to his feet. "Spike, she's not here."

"Connor, just…" Angel started.

"Listen to me! She's not here! Smell her, Spike. It's not her. This is something, a glamour. Someone's trying to distract you! It's not her!"

"What's he talking about? Who is he?" Buffy asked. "Spike, you know me."

"Where's Dawn?" Spike asked suddenly.

"Wh…what?" For the first time, Buffy seemed to lose her stride. "Spike, why are you…"

"Where is she?" Spike insisted.

"She's in Rome. You're not…"

"You left her in Rome on her own?"

"She's a big girl now. I wanted it to be just us."

Spike took a step back, away from her. "Sorry, pet. Not buying."

"Spike, you…"

"No way Buffy Summers puts me before the lil' bit. No chance. Whoever you are, you're not Buffy."

"Phooey." Buffy shrugged, folding her arms. "Doesn't matter. I'm not the last."

Deirbhile pulled the dagger from Connor's belt and stood, watching the Buffy-impostor carefully. "Who made you?"

"Bite me." the thing retorted.

"Not hungry, thanks." Before any of them saw her move, Deirbhile was beside her, dagger tip resting lightly at her throat. "Who sent you?"

The thing arched an eyebrow and looked over her head. "Last chance, Spike."

"Yeah. Whatever." Spike snorted.

The thing shrugged and lunged forward, impaling herself on Deirbhile's dagger.

"Ick!" Deirbhile jerked backwards, pulling the dagger free and watching the thing dissolve into goo.

"What the hell was that?" Connor demanded.

"Does it matter?" Deirbhile asked, stripping the goo from the dagger with a shudder. "Urgh."

"Everything happens at once." Connor muttered.

"Yeah. No time to handle one thing before the next comes along. Shame. Angel, what the hell was that?" Deirbhile demanded, turning to face him.

Angel held out his hand for the dagger and she flipped it in her hand, holding it out hilt first to him. He studied the traces of goo left on it. "Can we borrow this?"

Deirbhile glanced at Connor, who shook his head quickly. "No."

"All right. Will you bring it down to the lab, to Fred?" Looking from one to the other, he added, "She won't hurt it."

"Couldn't if she tried." Deirbhile said, in automatic, unthinking defense of the weapon she'd carried for so long. "Yes, we'll do that."

"We will?" Connor asked, snatching it from Angel's outstretched hand.

"So far all we know is Elven silver turns those things to goo, and if we don't find out more you're going to be run a little thin keeping up." Deirbhile stopped short. "I just said that, didn't I?"

"Yeah." Connor looked back at Angel grimly. "There'll be more coming."

"We'll be ready." Angel said, equally grimly.


	3. Chapter 3

Author's note: Hey guys! No time to talk, sorry, thanks for the reviews…next week there'll be no chapter of this story, instead the sidebar will be posting...

Those Who do not Remember 3

"I don't like this room." Connor said quietly, using Irish rather than English out of deference to the large number of people roaming around.

"I know you don't. We need to know what's happening."

"Why? You know something about this thing?"

"No, but it was almost a glamour, what it used, and no one except me or a witch should be able to do that. And we know it's not a witch, because they don't turn into goo when you…"

She stopped as Fred came up to them and offered the dagger back to Connor. "Cleaned up for you and everything."

"Thanks." Connor muttered, sliding it back into the sheath.

"Find anything?" Deirbhile asked.

"As near as we can tell, they have no form. They just shape themselves whatever way they need." Fred told her.

"Creepy." Deirbhile said absently.

"What are you thinking?" Connor asked.

"I'm just…there's no legend about this. Not that I remember."

"So?"

"The _peist, _and the _bean sidhe…_they're Irish legends. They came so close together, and now the…" she stopped, thinking rapidly. "No, that's not right either. Some of them could change shape, couldn't they?"

"Tara!" Connor said loudly, and she startled and looked up at him.

"Sorry. I'm trying to…I can't remember this properly. I _think _some of the Tuatha de Danaan could take on other forms, but only very specific ones. Not any one they wanted." She glanced at Fred. "So that's probably not much help. Sorry."

"You think your guys have something to do with this?" Connor asked her.

"Not my guys, no, they wouldn't be attacking…but there's something. It's linked."

"You have guys?" Fred asked.

Deirbhile gestured dismissively. "Complicated. And not relevant, either."

"You sure?" Wes asked from behind them. "The smallest detail can…"

"It's not relevant." she repeated. "Connor, let's go kill something."

Connor shrugged. "Kay."

"Kids are so romantic today, aren't they?" Knox said, passing by.

"Hey! You want trouble?" Deirbhile asked sharply. "I could give you coffins-full of trouble, boy. You try me."

"No!" Knox shook his head rapidly. "No, no trouble, I just…I didn't mean anything, it was just…"

"Think in future before you talk to me, and then don't." Deirbhile ordered. Knox nodded eagerly, almost falling over himself in his rush to get away.

"You shouldn't talk to him that way." Fred said mildly.

"Lot of things shouldn't be." Deirbhile answered. "Connor, let's _go _already."

Connor followed her without a word.

"She really shouldn't talk to Knox that way." Fred repeated, looking to Wes.

"You want to insist on that? She's not the most stable person."

"I heard that!" Deirbhile's voice echoed back to them.

"So, goo demons." Wes said immediately.

"You're loopy." Connor said conversationally.

They were wandering around the docks, usually a pretty good place to find various kinds of demon. Tonight they seemed fairly empty, and the two were wondering if something apocalyptic was happening that they just didn't know about.

"I know. It's LA, it happens." She shrugged. "They're used to it."

"You don't like that man."

"Knox…yeah. There's something about him. Why haven't we been attacked yet?"

"Because every demon in LA knows who we are? We're not exactly low-profile, Tara."

"No, I know, but it's…this is stupid. Let's go back."

"Wait." Connor caught her arm, holding her in place. "Look."

Two blocks down the street a warehouse was giving off a very faint glow. Anyone else, looking at it, would probably assume it was reflecting a streetlight. But Deirbhile could sense magic surrounding it, and Connor could feel…

Not the magic, exactly. He couldn't feel magic, usually. But he could sense something off about the building, and the closer they got the stronger the feeling was.

"I don't like it." he murmured.

"Yeah, it's…" Deirbhile held her hand in front of her, studying it. "There's something weird about it. Things…it feels wrong inside."

"Really? Could have told you that."

"No, I mean I can't sense inside it. Anything. It's like there's nothing there."

"I thought you couldn't sense in LA anyway."

"Not as well as normal, no, but I can get…impressions…that place is empty." Unconsciously, she shuddered, wrapping her arms around herself. "I don't like it."

"It's not empty." Connor pointed to a window on the top floor, then another further along, a third on the ground floor. Shadows moved inside. "There's someone inside."

"I don't…" Deirbhile shook her head. "Let's call Angel first."

"I'm not waiting for him." Connor warned her.

"Never crossed my mind that you would." Deirbhile retorted. "At least if something goes wrong they'll know where to find our battered corpses."

Connor eyed her. "There won't be any corpses. Not ours, anyway."

She made a face as her 'phone connected, speaking quickly to Harmony and hanging up to chase Connor towards the building. "Will you please not break in? We'll be heard."

"We won't." Connor looked insulted.

"Connor, let's just…"

Connor raised a hand, cutting her off, and gestured quickly to one side of the building. Deirbhile let him guide her around to the side, where they climbed the fire escape on the next building over.

Connor crouched at the edge of the roof, listening carefully.

"Well?" Deirbhile asked softly.

"Lots of people." He cocked his head slightly. "Don't understand them."

"Demons, then." She moved to the edge of the roof, studying the next one. "Gravel. They'll hear us, Connor."

"We're not aiming for the roof." He pointed out a window that had been broken at some point.

"You want me to hit that?"

"Can you do it?"

"Of course I can do it, that's not the point. Why that one?"

"Far enough away from the voices. You first."

"Me first. Thanks. If there're guards, I'll meet them first. That's great." She launched herself from the edge of the roof, clearing the twenty feet with ease and catching the bottom of the frame. For a minute she just hung there, listening for any sound within; then she drew herself up and through the window in one smooth move.

Reaching back through the frame, she broke out some of the shards of glass before gesturing to Connor to follow her. He cleared the gap easily and was beside her a minute later.

"Hurt yourself?" he asked softly.

Deirbhile glanced at her hand where she'd inadvertently caught the glass in her landing. "It's nothing."

"Tie it up. We're in a building full of demons."

Grimacing, she ripped a strip off her top and bandaged it. "There. Happy?"

"This way."

"We can't handle this."

Connor glanced across at her, eyes bright. "Really? You can't take half those guys?"

They were crouched on a walkway overlooking the main floor, where at least fifty demons were talking.

"Stop trying to challenge me. We don't even know they're evil."

"Think those are for show?" Connor gestured to a pile of weapons in a corner.

"Was hoping you hadn't seen those. Connor…"

"We can take them." he insisted.

"There's a portal over there." she mused, gesturing to a faintly glowing patch of air. "I wonder if they're…"

"We can take them." Connor repeated.

"We don't know anything about them! What if they can only be killed by silver?"

"We've got silver."

"You're trying to get me killed." Deirbhile muttered, shifting her weight.

The walkway groaned warningly, and they had time for one startled look before it ripped its moorings and fell.

The fall wasn't enough to hurt them, but by the time they'd risen to their feet and climbed out of the mess every demon in the place was watching them…and they must have multiplied, Deirbhile thought, because there were an awful lot more now.

"Connor…" she said slowly, unconsciously moving away from the wreckage, to firmer footing.

"Here." Pulling the dagger free, he tossed it to her.

And then there was no more time for talk, only for fighting.

Connor lost himself in the rhythm of the fight for a time, coming back to himself abruptly when his shoulder hit Deirbhile's; automatically he turned, pressing his back against hers.

"I'm too old for this." Deirbhile sounded oddly breathless. "Shouldn't they be dissolving?"

"You ok?" Connor asked, watching the demons warily.

"No." She slumped against him, and he adjusted to the extra weight without thinking.

"What is it?"

She pushed away without answering, and Connor flipped over the nearest demon and spun so he could watch her as he fought.

She'd been raised in war, as a warrior. He'd known that almost as long as he'd known her. And while her skill was the bow, as with any Elf of her race, she could use any weapon…and the dagger had been forged for her, and only for her.

Connor knew that. He knew it…but he'd never seen her fight, or do anything more violent than raise her voice, and he hadn't expected her to be so…

Efficient.

She'd dropped her glamour and was Thariin now, and even armed with only one dagger instead of the two she'd always used, she was tearing through the demons like paper.

They came together again; only a few demons were left now, hissing sullenly from the sides of the room.

"You want them?" Thariin asked, stripping blood and slime from her dagger. Connor spun after them without bothering to answer her, attention all on his targets now.

So the cry of pain from behind surprised him, distracted him, and for a moment the demons had the upper hand.

It was only a few seconds before he was back in control, but he'd gotten turned around and now he was on the wrong side of the demons to help Thariin. She seemed to have lost the dagger; he could see it on the floor, too far away for either of them to reach with any ease, and was struggling against three…

They weren't demons.

And that made even less sense, really, because there was no way three humans could take her out. And then he felt an odd sense of loss, realized something he never even thought about was missing, and redoubled his efforts to reach her, because the bastards had separated her from the earth's influence totally and she couldn't take that for long…


	4. Chapter 4

Author's note: Scary Vampiress, hi! I'm glad you're enjoying the stories; I tried to keep everyone in character as much as I could. This season's timeline is accurate up to when Knox and Fred break up just before the Illiria arc, but we haven't quite reached there yet; Knox and Fred are still just geekily flirting at this point. (They're so cute!)

Mery-Key, did you like that? The 'coffins' comment seemed like too much to me, but maybe I'm just hypersensitive or something…Did you read Regaining Strength?

Anyone who read without reviewing; thanks!

This one's a bit shorter; sorry. Next week it'll be longer, promise.

Those who do not Remember 4

"You have nothing." Angel said flatly.

"There's nothing to have. They're goo." Fred said apologetically.

"And the _peist? _The _bean sidhe?_"

Fred shrugged helplessly. "None of our instruments can even detect the _bean sidhe. _And the _peist_ have vanished since we disturbed them earlier."

"Where are Connor and Deirbhile?" Angel asked Wes.

"They went to kill things." Knox offered.

"Why does he get to be here and I had to hear about it from the copy girl?" Spike complained, coming in.

"Spike…" Angel warned him.

"He was helping me." Fred told him.

"When did they go?" Angel asked, looking at Wes again.

"Some hours ago, I suppose." Wes answered.

"Right…how's Gunn?"

"Shaken. Killing his sister…again…wasn't easy for him."

"Why didn't she dissolve?" Angel asked. Alonna's body hadn't dissolved until Fred had started the autopsy, at which point it had exploded and drenched the whole lab in goo.

"We don't know yet." Fred said tiredly, pulling some sheets of paper from Knox's arms.

"Did he think it was her?" Spike asked.

"I…I'm not sure."

"I knew it wasn't Buffy. If he didn't know it wasn't her, that could be it."

"Could that be it?" Wes asked.

"I'm not sure." Fred repeated. "I guess."

Harmony came in. "Connor and Deirbhile are back. They're down in Medical."

"Medical? Why?" Angel asked sharply.

Harmony shrugged. "For Deirbhile. I thought she was all, y'know, fast healing."

"She's supposed to be. Get Connor up here."

Harmony started out, stopped, and backed up, letting Connor pass her. "Here he is!" she chirped, as though she'd had anything to do with it.

"What happened?" Wes asked.

"You ok?" Angel added.

"Fine. We got side-tracked."

"Side-tracked." Angel repeated.

"To San Francisco." He sat gingerly on the extreme edge of a chair. "There was a portal, we had to go…"

"What about Deirbhile?" Angel asked.

"We met some people she knows there. Got some help."

"She all right?" Knox asked.

"She'd be better if she'd let me get her out of LA." Connor said bluntly. Glancing up, he added, "What do you care, anyway?"

"Connor!" Fred said sternly.

"He doesn't even like her." Connor muttered.

"What? That's not true." Knox protested.

"She doesn't like you." Connor corrected himself, rising suddenly to his feet and crossing to the door.

Deirbhile watched without moving from where she was leaning against the frame until he reached her; then she let him help her in. "Thanks." she murmured, sinking into a seat.

"Are you all right?" Angel asked.

"Sure. No problems."

"Your hand's bleeding." Fred pointed out.

Deirbhile didn't move. "Yeah, it does that. I know who it is."

"Who what is?" Wes asked, frowning.

"Doing this. In charge of the goo demons."

"We need a better name for those." Lorne muttered.

"_Clann Alta."_ Deirbhile obliged.

Angel leaned forward, suddenly intent. "What?"

"_Clann Alta. _The shape-shifters. It's not quite right 'cos they weren't goo, but close enough."

"_Torc Alta…"_ Wes murmured, as though trying to remember something.

"That's it." Deirbhile agreed. "_Torc Alta _were the were-pigs. _Clann Alta _was the collective name for the whole stinking lot of them."

"You didn't like them?" Wes asked mildly.

Deirbhile gestured slightly, wincing as she dripped blood on the table. "Sorry…it's not that, they just…they made me feel weird."

"Why?"

"Not fish, nor fowl, nor good red herring. Neither one nor t'other, you know? They could look human, sometimes, but I knew they weren't…kind of like me. Anyway, off-topic."

"The boss." Angel said quietly.

"The boss." she agreed. "Eden."

"As in the Garden of?" Gunn asked from the doorway.

"Hi, Gunn. No, not the Garden…Eden. Minor…very minor…_Tuatha de Danann_ and I'm guessing from the looks on your faces you have no idea what that is?" Groaning, she leaned back in her seat.

"Mythological races of beings in Ireland." Wes supplied.

"Not mythological." Deirbhile corrected him. "But yeah. Eden had some power over fire, but he was such a minor member of the race no one bothered with him much…and when they faded away he didn't go with them."

"So now he's…what, trying to take over the world?" Fred asked.

"What shall we do tonight, Brain?" Deirbhile murmured. "The same thing we do every night, Pinky…try to take over the world."

Fred looked helplessly at Connor, who leaned forward and squeezed Deirbhile's bad hand.

"Ow." she commented mildly.

"Then stay focused." Connor ordered, sitting back again.

"Yes, trying to take over the world. He's sending all these stupid Irish things to distract you."

Angel looked up with a start. "Why those?"

"Um-possibly because you're Irish? And so is he," she gestured to Connor, "more or less, and so am I."

"Since when?" Connor asked in surprise.

"You, or me?"

"Either. Both. Whatever."

She smiled faintly, knowing he'd chosen the words deliberately. "Angel's Irish…at least, Liam's Irish. That makes you…half-and-half, anyway."

"And what about you?" Fred asked tentatively.

"I was a queen in Ireland for years…and there's the other thing." She looked from one to the other, finally looking back at Connor. "They don't get it."

"No." he agreed.

"If you told us, that would help." Gunn pointed out sharply.

Deirbhile stuck out her tongue at him. "I'm getting there. It's my heritage because the _de Danann_ were Elves…or not quite Elves; descended from Elves, is probably better."

"They what?"

"When the Elves left, after the War, some of them decided to hang around. They roamed for a while and eventually they fetched up on…well, Banba, then, I guess. I drove back the sea for them and left them to it. They were gone by the time I got back."

"When was that?" Wes asked.

"Two, two and a half thousand years later, I guess. That was when I was married."

"Married." Fred repeated.

"Yeah. Cerbhall. But that's not…it doesn't matter." She glanced at Angel. "You remember any of this?"

"The _de Danann, _a bit…kid's stories." Deirbhile flinched, lowering her head, and he shrugged. "It's all they were."

"It's all they are." Deirbhile agreed, not looking up. "Except Eden."

"What does it mean?" Connor asked.

"Eden? Fire." Deirbhile told him absently. "That was his specialty…fire."

"Didn't know Elves could do that." Gunn commented. "You can't."

"True. But he wasn't an Elf, he was _Tuatha de Danann. _And they were…they had power. A lot of it." She glanced at Angel. "Eden's dangerous. The more so because he has others working for him now."

_"Clann Alta?"_

"Them. Some kind of sorcerer or conjurer, for the _peist._ I don't know about the _bean sidhe._"

"He's consolidating power." Angel said thoughtfully.

"Right, and distracting you while he does it. Obviously he's afraid of you."

"So he's sending…" Angel thought for a moment. "Things to keep Fred busy. Buffy for Spike…" He glanced at Gunn. "For Gunn."

"And all of them for you." Connor added. Off everyone's looks, he added defensively, "He's distracted when you all are."

"He doesn't need to distract you, because you have to watch me and I'm always loopy." Deirbhile continued. "So that just leaves Wes and Lorne."

"And we may be about to find out…" Fred backed up, knocking over a chair in her hurry, eyes on the odd swirl in the center of the room.

Connor pushed Deirbhile back towards the door, and the men took up stances. The swirl vanished…

And Deirbhile gasped, gripping the doorframe tightly, and when they looked back her glamour had disappeared and Thariin was there. "Brother…" she gasped.


	5. Chapter 5

Author's note: (Listens to crickets chirping)

Hey AngelWings! I'm glad you enjoyed it. Feel free to email me or ask any questions you'd like in your review. (Hint) I hope you've recovered from the shock ;p

Those who do not Remember

5

Thariin stepped back, shaking her head very slowly. The man who'd just appeared—a tall blond, dressed in shades of green—stared around the room blankly before looking back at her. "Thariin…"

"Don't." She shook her head, tears starting to fall.

"Tara, it's not him." Connor said sharply.

"I know." she answered softly. "Why do you think I'm crying?" She stared at him for another long minute before saying softly, "I love you, brother. I always will."

"Thariin…" he started again.

"I renounce you." Shaking, she turned her back to the illusion, wrapping one arm around herself and pressing the other against her mouth.

Her brother started forward, but Connor stood in his path, refusing to let him past. Lorne, who'd been watching from the sidelines, stepped forward and wrapped an arm around Thariin's shoulders…slightly hesitant, because Thariin was taller than Deirbhile and was carrying visible weapons.

"How long has it been?" he asked softly.

"Thousands. More than I think about." Deirbhile answered.

"He's not disappearing." Gunn pointed out. "Why is he not disappearing? Aren't they supposed to go blooey when we don't believe in them?"

"Because she doesn't want him to." Connor said. He hadn't turned away.

Thariin shook under Lorne's arm, and he looked down at her in alarm. "Deirbhile…?"

Thariin twisted gently out of his grip and moved to see her brother again. He hadn't moved, well aware of the others watching him, but when she turned he took an involuntary step forward. "Thariin…"

"My brother left." she informed him. Her voice was a little higher than normal. "He sailed over the sea. I asked him to go, and he loved me enough to do it."

He stared at her for a long minute. "I would." he agreed softly. "If you asked it, I would."

Thariin closed her eyes, tears falling freely now. "You don't…you're not…"

"Him?" The shade of her brother smiled faintly. "Enough. Memories, you said…"

"Memories." she agreed softly, opening her eyes.

He reached out slowly, wiping a tear away from her eye and then letting his fingers rest on the pendant at her neck. "Still?"

"Always." She stepped back, and he let his hand drop slowly back to his side. "Go back to sleep, brother, in the peace we all earned so long ago."

_"Ya?" _he asked.

"Thariin. Always and forever Thariin."

She held out her hand without looking, and Connor handed her the dagger. Her bother watched calmly, but she just stood, staring at him, and after a minute Connor took the dagger back and pushed her back towards Lorne. Lorne, grasping what was going on, turned her bodily away so that she couldn't see what was happening.

She shuddered, though, as her brother vanished, and all the strength went from her body; she just fell. Connor jumped and managed to catch her before she hit the floor, gesturing Lorne away.

"Tara, snap out of it. You don't have time to mourn him." he said sharply.

"Connor!" Fred cried. "Deirbhile's just…"

"Would you please trust me? I've spent a lot more time with her than you have." Connor reminded her without looking up. "Tara. Come on, I know you can hear me."

"Sure. Elf hearing." she murmured. Connor leaned back, taking away her support so she had to prop herself up.

"With us?"

"With you." She rose to her feet, not bothering to wipe the tears away from her cheeks. She did resume her glamour, becoming once again Deirbhile. "Wow. You know, you see it, but until it happens you never realize just how much it…wow. That hurt."

"Your brother?" Angel said quietly.

"My brother. My companion. My dearest friend, for a long time." She gazed past them for a moment. "A long time. Until I made him leave."

"To go where?" Gunn asked.

"Heaven." At his look, she added, "That's not our word for it. But…once there you never aged, were never sick or hurt, and the trip was one way. Heaven's close enough."

"Are you sorry?" Fred asked. "I mean…"

"I know what you mean." Deirbhile told her quietly. "I…he'd stayed with me two thousand years waiting for it. And he left me, and it was all I could do not to force him back to me. Not to cry and call to him, because he would have come back. He deserved better from me than to stay here." She shuddered, glancing at Gunn. "I didn't realize how much that would…"

"So that's you, and Spike." he cut her off, turning towards Angel. "How close are we to figuring this thing out?"

"We know why they're doing it, we just don't know how to stop them. Yet." Angel glanced at Deirbhile. "Any ideas?"

"No. I never really interacted with Eden."

"Do you know where he is?" Angel continued.

"That's a good point…I should know." She glanced at Connor. "Can I…?"

He handed her the dagger and she studied it for a minute.

"Perhaps I should research this Eden." Wes suggested.

"Won't help. He's not in any of your books." Connor managed to make 'books' sound ugly somehow, though he was still watching Deirbhile.

"How do you know?" Knox asked curiously.

"You still here? Go away."

"Connor." Deirbhile said softly, and he shrugged.

"I know because I know. Eden's not in your books."

"What are you doing?" Gunn asked Deirbhile.

"Scrying."

"Don't you need a map and a crystal for that?" Fred asked. "Or a bowl of water?"

"Sometimes."

"But not this time." Gunn said carefully.

"No."

"Are you sure you…" Wes started.

"Can everyone please stop talking to me! Please! If I get this wrong I could kill the bugger, or all of you. Thank you."

"Isn't that good?" Fred asked. "Killing him, I mean. Not killing us, because that would be bad..." she trailed off.

"Not if we don't know what he's doing or how he's doing it." Angel said patiently.

"You shouldn't curse." Connor told Deirbhile.

"You do."

"Cole would be shocked."

"Bother Cole. Shut up. Bugger's not a curse."

"Yes it is." Angel said absently.

"Bugger. Shut up. Got him."

Since this was delivered in one breath without breaks, it was a moment before anyone deciphered it. "You found him? Where?"

"Docks." She glanced at Connor. "We were just a bit too far north."

"What's he doing down there?" Connor demanded, baffled.

"Why not?" Fred asked.

"There's no _power _down there! Whatever he's doing he's fueling it himself!"

"Connor, sweetie, you're speaking in tongues." Deirbhile said quietly. Glancing up, she continued, "Eden's not drawing any power. Whatever he's doing, he's powering it himself."

"And we care because…" Gunn trailed off expectantly.

"Because he can't do that forever. Sooner or later he's gonna have to find another power source."

"And we care because…" Gunn repeated.

"Because," Deirbhile said, speaking very slowly and carefully, "he'll be vulnerable then, because his own power'll be running low. So we might be able to stop him."

"Why wait?" Gunn asked. "Why not just go after him now?"

"You want to kill Alonna again?" Deirbhile asked bluntly. "Want to see how many times you can do it? You go down there now, that's what you'll be doing." She shifted her gaze to Angel. "You'll probably have to kill Buffy," to Wes, "I dunno, Fred maybe?" to Connor, "and you…"

"We get it." Angel interrupted her.

"Stop." Connor added. "You're going loopy again."

"Bite me." she muttered, but she lowered herself back to her seat. "Angel, you'll have to time it right. What date is it?"

"Eighteenth." Wes said.

"You've got three days, then."

"What's the twenty first?" Connor asked.

"Summer Solstice. Eden can draw all the power he needs then, if he tries." She looked back at Angel. "Makes me stronger, but it's better for him too. Your time frame. A ticking clock on top of everything else."

"Deirbhile." Connor said quietly, warningly, and she fell silent.

"Your hand's still bleeding." Fred said after a minute.

"Yeah." Deirbhile glanced disinterestedly at it.

"Doesn't it hurt?"

"No."

Knox took a hesitant step forward. "I know first aid…"

"Medical have looked at it." Deirbhile said coldly.

"And even if they hadn't you're not coming near her." Connor added.

"Stop." Deirhile said quietly.

"How will we know when he moves?" Fred asked, gesturing Knox back a little.

"Don't know." Deirbhile rose from the table.

"Where you going?" Gunn demanded.

"To see if I can do something about this." She held up her still bleeding hand. "And I can't do that from in here."

"You want…"

Connor trailed off, and she shook her head. "No, you stay here. I won't be long."

She skirted Spike on her way out, smiling briefly at him.

"Let's get a surveillance team down there." Angel said, glaring at Spike until he backed off. "Connor, can you show us where you were?"

* * *

"This is where we were. He must be up there."

Angel looked up at the warehouse in front of them. "How'd you get in there?"

"Window." He pointed to it.

"From here?"

"No, from the next roof. That one." He glanced at Angel. "You want to go in?"

"No. That's a pretty big jump. You have any trouble?"

"No." Connor eyed him. "What?"

"Nothing! Just—that's a long way. Well done."

"Yeah, you're proud of me, whatever. Let's _go."_


	6. Chapter 6

Author's note: Hi MeryKey! Glad you're still enjoying it. We're almost at the end of _Those who…_ now, but Connor's not going anywhere…

Those who do not Remember

6

Deirbhile wandered into Wes's office later on.

"Deirbhile. Feeling better?"

"Much, thank you. Where are the others?"

"Hmm? They've gone to stake out Eden."

"What're you reading?"

He raised the volume. "Gods and Fighting Men."

"Lady Gregory." Deirbhile murmured.

"It occurred to me that I might need to brush up on my Irish myths. Lady Gregory seemed a good place to start."

"You could try Michael Scott too. Some of his stuff's not too bad. The man's a jerk, but he writes well."

Wes leaned forward. "Do you know what he's planning?"

"No. A battle, I guess, but I've no idea when, or where. Probably soon, since none of us fell for _Clann Alta's _tricks."

"You know these legends better than anyone. You can't hazard a guess?"

"Wesley, in those days everyone fought everyone over everything. Eden could be drawing on any one of a thousand battles, or none of them. I just don't know."

"What of the major battles?"

"The largest was between the _de Dannan_ and the _Fomor_, led by Lugh Long Hand and Balor Evil Eye, respectively. Lugh defeated Balor by casting a spear at his eye, saving Ireland from the tyranny of the _Fomor_. But there were a thousand other battles, Wesley, for a million different reasons. I don't even know why Eden didn't fade away with the others."

"Obviously he had his reasons." Wes mused.

"Obviously. But I don't get why he waited so long. It's five thousand years or more since the _Tuatha_ walked."

"We must assume he had his reasons. A celestial alignment, perhaps."

"Maybe. I don't…" She stopped suddenly, tensing.

"What is it?" Wes asked cautiously.

"Something's wrong. Very wrong. Where are they?"

"Near to where you had your run-in with his men." Wesley rose, reaching for his coat. "How quickly can you get us there?"

"Not quickly enough." She eyed him. "You don't have any spells?"

"Not for instantaneous teleportation, no. Shall I call a car?"

"I can do it faster than that. Let's go."

* * *

"Are you sure this is the place?" Wes asked some time later. Deirbhile hadn't done anything he could detect beyond walk fast, but a journey that should have taken at least three-quarters of an hour on foot had taken only ten minutes.

"This is it." she agreed, making no move towards it.

"What precisely do you sense?"

"A lot of power." She reached out, waving her hand through the air in front of them. Ice-blue sparks flickered around her. "And…" She shook her head. "Stephen's afraid."

"Afraid?" Wes repeated.

"I've never felt him afraid. Not like this."

"What's he afraid of?"

"Can't tell." She bit her lip, studying the building. "He's not the only one, either. I can't…separate the others, but there's a lot of fear in there."

"Can you tell what's doing it? What kind of spell?"

"Not from out here. If we go in there, it'll hit us, too."

"Do we have a choice?" Wes asked rhetorically.

Deirbhile grimaced. "I hate those kind of questions."

"Let's go." Wes held her elbow, steering her towards the fire escape.

Inside it was oddly smoky, though they didn't need to cough and neither had any trouble breathing.

"More like fog than smoke." Wes mused, waving a hand experimentally.

"Don't mess with it." Deirbhile hissed. "He'll sense it."

"Eden's power is fire, I highly doubt he…"

"It's not a power, just a sense. Stop wafting the stuff around."

Wes mentally shrugged, lowering his hands to his sides. "Can you hear anything?"

"No."

"This building is not that large, we should be able to…"

"Sshhh!" she hissed frantically. "Look."

The fog…smoke, mist, whatever…cleared slightly, revealing Spike on his knees, keening to himself. He showed not a bit of interest in them, even when Wes shook his shoulder.

"He can't see us. Or hear us, either." He rose to his feet, staring around. "Whatever he sees, it's not this place."

Deirbhile was standing some distance away, arms wrapped tightly across her chest. "Something about a song…that made him do things. Kill people. Hurt them."

"A song?" Wes repeated blankly. "That made him hurt people?"

"I don't know, I can't see…" she backed up a few steps.

"All right, Deirbhile." Wes did his best to sound soothing. "Can you sense the others?"

"Stephen's that way." She gestured to her left. "But it's the same for him. You're not going to be able to get through to him."

"Can you?" Wes asked.

"Maybe. Depends what he's seeing."

"You can't tell?"

"Not from here." She glanced around and then looked back at Wes. "Listen, Wes, I know you're not particularly fond of me, but I'm the only thing you can trust in here, all right? Whatever's gotten them," she gestured to Spike, still ignoring them, "Could just as easy get you. Don't look at anything but me, got it?"

"Likewise." he murmured.

She flashed a brief grin at him before moving away from Spike, through the smoke.

Connor was backed up against a wall, staring blindly from side to side. The panic on his face was unnerving.

"What does he see?" Wes asked Deirbhile softly.

"Nothing."

"Deirbhile…"

"Literally. Nothing. No people, no buildings, no landmarks. Just…nothing."

Wes studied Connor for a moment. "Alone?"

"Absolutely…" she shuddered. "He's calling me."

"You?"

"The place he's standing is alive, more or less. He knows it's not an alternate dimension. He thinks I have to be around somewhere." She stepped back, taking a deep breath. "Wes? Don't freak out, Ok?"

"What do you mean?" he demanded.

"I'm gonna try and break Connor out of it. Things might…get a bit freaky."

"Freaky." he repeated skeptically.

"I don't know the spell Eden used. So I can't use magic to break it. Not regular magic, anyway."

"So what kind of magic are you using?"

"I'm not…exactly. I'm relying on him." She gestured to Connor and then, before Wes could say anything else, opened her mind to the entire area.

The spell hit almost at once; she could still see Wes and Connor, could almost hear Wes' words, but they sounded as though he…or possibly she…were underwater. Dismissing him without effort, she looked around, frowning.

"Looking for me?" someone whispered behind her.

Startled, she spun in place, stumbling back a step. "Eric?"

"Wrong one." he whispered, reaching for her.

"Conchobhar…" she stumbled back again, evading his touch with some difficulty. "Don't touch me. I warned you!"

"Cerbhall's land, right? I remember. Only problem with that is…" He leaned in, backing her against a pillar, and whispered directly in her ear, "you have no power here."

Blinking, she tried to move backwards again. More or less constant exposure to Eric had dulled her fight-or-flight response to him, but this was very clearly not Eric and old instincts were screaming now.


	7. Chapter 7

Author's note: Hi angelwings and Merykey!

Merykey, I'm afraid this is the end of Champions for now. Connor's staying around, but the next few stories will not be focused on him.

angelwings, if you think I'm tearing down Deirbhile now just wait a while. See what you think of _Come the 'Pocalyse, _posting in a few months. (Looks around) (Whispers) Want a sneak preview? (Normal tone) Review or email me!

Those who do not Remember

7

Standing beside Connor still, Wes watched as Deirbhile backed away, muttering words he couldn't catch under her breath. Acting on impulse, he turned to Connor.

"Connor, Deirbhile's in trouble. She needs help."

Connor twitched slightly but showed no signs of waking; Wes thought for a moment and tried again. "Tara's in trouble, Connor. She needs you to help her. I can't do it."

Connor shifted again, vague awareness coming back into his face. "Wesley?"

"Yes." Wes agreed. "Can you see me?"

"No…empty…"

"No, it's not. You're in a warehouse. Concentrate, Connor. Tara needs your help."

"Afraid…"

"Don't be. There's no danger here."

"_Her." _Even only half-conscious, Connor managed to sound annoyed.

"Deirbhile's afraid?" Wes glanced over his shoulder. She'd backed herself up against a pillar and was fighting…well, nothing he could see. "Yes. She needs you, Connor…I can't see what she's fighting."

Connor's eyes closed; when he opened them again he was fully back. "Wes."

"Connor." Wes returned.

Connor looked at Deirbhile, frowning. "Son of a…"

"What is it?" Wes demanded.

"Never mind." Connor strode across to stand beside her. "Tara, listen to me."

"Help…" Deirbhile whimpered.

Connor shook his head. "No. Listen to me, Tara. _Not afraid._"

"Connor…" Wes started.

"Her battle." He didn't turn. "Not mine. Tara…"

"I'm not a victim. I'm not afraid." Deirbhile breathed.

"Good." He stepped aside. "Kill him."

"Connor…"

"_Kill him." _Connor repeated.

"I'm not a victim. I'm not afraid." Deirbhile repeated. She blinked, awareness coming back into her eyes. "Stephen…"

"Better?" he asked, crossing back to Wes and rummaging through the weapons bag.

"Yeah." She tilted her head to one side. "Ow. Fear hangover."

"Can you break the others free?" Wes asked her.

"No. Just Connor."

"That was stupid." Connor told her, passing by them on a self-appointed perimeter sweep. "What if it hadn't worked? What if he'd caught you?"

"I have faith in you." she said tiredly.

Catching Wes' look, she added, "Connor's my Warrior. If I was in enough danger I was fairly sure he'd sense it."

"Fairly sure? You risked your life…and the life of everyone on the planet, I may add…on a 'fairly sure'?"

"Eden wins, no one on this planet's going to have much of a life anyway. Anyway, I told you. I have faith in Connor."

"Faith in someone is one thing." Wes started, but Connor came back before he could finish.

"Gunn and Angel." he said, pointing in two different directions. "Neither of 'em talking."

"All right. So the question now is, how do we stop Eden with most of our Champions out of the running?" Wes said.

"Don't you have resources now?" Deirbhile asked, catching Connor's arm when he would have gone on another circuit of the building. "Just stop for a second, ok?" she said softly.

"Not evil-former-Elf killing resources, no." Wes told her.

"Well, your Champions may be out of it, but mine are fine."

"_Are_ fine?" he repeated quickly.

"Leave it. Connor…"

"There's no one else here. No portal, nothing." He shrugged frustratedly. "I don't know if there was anyone else here. We didn't get a chance to find out."

"Ok, so then we call him out."

"Call him out?" Wes repeated. "This is a demon, not a cowboy!"

"Oddly, I knew that. Trust me. He'll come."

Turning, she began a string of sentences in what almost had to be Irish. Wes' Gaelic was woefully inadequate, though, and he couldn't translate.

Connor came to stand beside him and began a running translation; after a minute or two, however, Wes waved him to stop. Irish insults apparently leaned towards the parents, the home life, and manners, and there was only so much Wes could take.

"My, your language has deteriorated!" someone called from the shadows. Connor tensed, but without even looking Deirbhile gestured him back.

"How would you know? I never spoke with you before!" she responded.

"Release our friends!" Wes added.

"They're not your friends." Eden protested. He hadn't stepped forward yet. "Didn't the vampire…excuse me, _one _of the vampires…try to smother you? Without even hearing you out?"

"Oh my, you're right." Wes drawled. "How stupid of me. I guess I'll just go home and wait for the end of the world, then."

"Unoriginal much?" Deirbhile added.

"You've always been a child, Thariin." Eden said in disgust.

"Yup." she agreed brightly. "Are we settled on that?" Glancing at Connor, she added something quietly in what was very definitely _not _Irish.

"How did you get out?" Eden asked, doing his best to sound nonchalant.

"I had friends to help me." Connor said, easing away from Deirbhile to her right. Catching on, Wes moved to her left.

"It's not like I'm using a gun, you know." Eden said exasperatedly. "You don't all have to be in the same place for me to hit you."

"Try it." Deirbhile's voice was full of steel.

Wes glanced back at her, murmuring a basic reveal spell, and saw a web of magic emanating from her and surrounding Connor and himself. Strands glimmered in the fog, going behind them and around Eden to the other side of the warehouse, and for a moment he was confused until he remembered the others, still locked in whatever private hell they were occupying.

Under the blue of her magic, bright, sickly green shone dimly around Connor and Deirbhile and glowed from three other locations around the warehouse floor. "Deirbhile?" he called softly.

"Ignore it." she answered shortly. "Tell me, Eden, why didn't you fade away?"

"_Go under the ground?_" Eden's tone was horrified. "How can you…the _thought _of it!"

"Huh." Deirbhile frowned. "Throwback."

"What?" His tone was sharp again.

"You're a throwback, Eden." Her tone was mildly interested. "You're an Elf, not _Tuatha._ Not in that thing, anyway. No elf would willingly go under the ground. It's suffocating."

"You have." Eden's voice was cold. "I've seen you do it."

"Yes, but I'm not really an Elf anymore." Her gaze flickered to her right. The four formed a sort of lopsided square now, Connor closer to Eden and Wes closer to Deirbhile. "You know that, right? You've been wandering around here for five thousand years or so, you know some about me?"

"Your husband was nice." Eden said. "But who was that other man?"

Deirbhile tensed. "No one. Just a noble at the court."

"Oh? Then why…"

Light flared abruptly as Connor slashed with his dagger, not at Eden but at a point in front of him. Wes threw up an arm, too slow to protect his eyes, and tried to focus through the sudden tears.

"Stay there." Deirbhile said from beside him, and then she was moving away, towards Connor. "Connor? Don't…"

A wordless yell from behind startled Wes, and he spun, peering uselessly into the depths of the fog. "Gunn!" Connor yelled. "Over here."

"What the hell is going on?" Gunn stumbled into Wes, who steadied him automatically.

"Just stay put." Deirbhile said, and then, softer, "Connor, go see if…"

"What about Eden?" Wes protested, letting go of Gunn to move forward.

"I've got him." Deirbhile sounded oddly tired. "But I can't hold him, which is why we need Spike and Angel…put your head down for a minute." she added.

Wes turned slightly and could see Gunn taking her advice, lowering his head. "You all right?" he asked.

"Just dizzy, is all." Gunn looked up. "You?"

"Yes." Wes wiped his eyes.

"What's goin' on?"

"At the moment? We're waiting for Angel and Spike so we can finish killing Eden."

"How'd you break us out?"

"Good question. Deirbhile? How did Connor break them out?"

"The dagger broke the cords binding them to Eden. The severing of those threads sent him into…sort of shock. But any second now he's gonna wake up, and I can't _stop _him. Connor!" She raised her voice in a yell.

"Coming! Give us a break, it's been like two minutes."

"Way too much time with Max." she muttered, turning back to Eden.

Wes realized abruptly that his vision had cleared enough that he could see them, and as he glanced around he could see Connor, Spike and Angel coming towards them. Connor moved past him without the slightest acknowledgment and began a whispered conversation with Deirbhile.

"What's going on?" Angel asked. Though shaky, he already looked more or less himself.

"We need to kill him." Connor said, coming back towards them. "You can handle that?"

"What's to stop him doing that mumbo-jumbo again? Sending us back there?" Spike asked.

"He can't." Deirbhile was still standing over Eden, not looking at them. When Angel realized Eden was right there, he lurched up to stand beside her. "Remember the conversation about power sources? He's running on empty. He _might_ be able to light a match or a candle, but I doubt it."

Spike came up on her other side. "Sure?"

"Yeah. Blocking him from you sent him out of control for a second. All his power bled off."

"Where to?" Wes asked.

"Mostly into blinding you." She didn't so much as look back at him, still staring at the body lying at her feet. "Flashy. He always was."

Connor snagged her arm, drawing her back and away. Spike and Angel exchanged looks, and then Angel turned to them. "Why don't you guys go? We'll…be back later."

"I'll wait around." Gunn said.

Wes nodded. "I…believe I might return to Wolfram and Hart. Connor, Deirbhile?"

Deirbhile murmured something to Connor, who shook his head and said, "Medical first. We're coming with you, Wes."

"Very well." he agreed. Nodding to Angel and the others, he gestured Connor and Deirbhile out ahead of him.

* * *

Connor found Deirbhile on the roof of the Wolfram and Hart building late the next afternoon; he hadn't seen her at all since they'd returned the previous evening.

"Feel better?" he asked, leaning against the wall beside her. Deirbhile nodded, pulling her legs up and turning so she was sitting on top of the wall rather than dangling halfway off it.

"Yeah."

Connor studied the view for a minute. "I was thinking of leaving the city."

"Yeah?" Deirbhile eyed him cautiously. "To go where?"

"Haven't decided yet. LA is Angel's city. I want to go somewhere different."

Deirbhile slid off the wall, watching him. "Thank you." she said finally.

"Whatever. Come inside so we can tell him."

"Angel? Yeah, coming…" She paused to look at the city again.

"Something wrong?"

"No. Eden's followers are dispersing. The _peist _are gone, the _bean sidhe's _stopped crying, and _na Clann Alta _have gone to wherever they'd been hiding." She smiled at him. "Things are back to normal."

"Let's see how long that lasts." Connor muttered.

"Hey, we could go to San Francisco." Deirbhile suggested brightly, heading for the door.

"No. They already have protectors."

"True. Um, there's a place called Colorado Springs…"

"Sounds boring. What else?"

"Perfectionist!"

She laughed as the door swung shut behind them, blocking out the last of the sunset.


End file.
